


When the Days Turn Dark

by MarauderManta



Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Don't read if you don't want spoilers, Gen, Has somebody used this title already?, I expect this to get jossed very quickly but oh well, Not until later though but there are a heck of a lot of spoilers for V3 so you know, Other canon characters are in this too, The rest of Team SSSN is also present
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-18 05:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7301392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarauderManta/pseuds/MarauderManta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Fall of Beacon, Yang Xiao Long is content to remain at home in Patch and let the rest of the world move on without her.  That is, until a few unexpected visitors show up to try and convince her otherwise.  With their help and some additional guidance from those who love her, will she choose to embark on a dangerous mission back into the Grimm-infested streets of Vale and beyond or just stay in bed where it's safe?</p>
<p>...Well, the answer's probably obvious but it sounds more dramatic that way.</p>
<p>A slightly different take on the direction V4 might pursue.  Focus is mostly on Yang but will occasionally swap to other POVs as needed.  There's Bumblebee and BlackSun if you squint, I guess?  This isn't about romance though, this is about mending broken friendships and trust.  Especially trust.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Four figures stood milling around in the snow outside the cozy looking wood cabin, one standing impassively in place, two of them bouncing on their heels to keep warm in the cold temperature, and the remaining one, presumably the leader, stood with his head cocked to one side, as if casing the house.

"This looks like the place, right?" The leader glanced back towards the other three. One of his companions spoke up, arms pulled tightly around himself for warmth.

"Gotta be. It's right where the staff at Signal said it'd be."

"Uhh, guys? Are we sure this is a good idea?" Another of their number spoke up, still shifting from one foot to the other as if he thought he'd freeze if he stood still for too long.

The leader glanced over his shoulder, fixing the male who'd spoken with a frown.

"For the last time, it'll be fine. So stop worrying and let's do this, I'm freezing my tail off here." Without another word, he moved for the door.

*****

Things had become almost drearily quiet around the Xiao Long-Rose family home since Ruby had left. Taiyang Xiao Long spent much of his day in a saddened silence, only occasionally broken up by awkward and futile attempts at conversation with his eldest daughter. Yang had rarely left her room in the few weeks she'd been home, choosing instead to gaze despondently out the window of the spare bedroom she now practically lived in. She ate her meals, what little she actually did eat, quietly, ignoring most of her father's efforts to engage her or talk to her and answering in short, clipped, nearly emotionless sentences when she was asked anything that couldn't be answered with a shake or nod of her head, before inevitably pushing her food away and asking to be left alone to rest.

Taiyang was no fool. One didn't suffer from depression as long as he had and then lack the ability to recognize it in others and it pained him to see his first born, his little ray of sunshine, so beaten and lost. What made matters worse was he could not pull her from it. Not by himself. That wasn't how it worked. He loved her and supported her and would continue to do so until his dying day, but only Yang could truly help herself get better, decide when to start moving forward again. He could only encourage and prompt her, and right now it seemed his daughter was intent on remaining in bed. The elder Xiao Long sighed as he poured water into a kettle and set it on the stove to boil.

He was reaching for the cupboard where the mugs were kept when a knock sounded at the door. Taiyang paused, wondering if he'd simply been hearing things as they rarely had visitors here, even before the fall of the CCT and Beacon. But those doubts were erased when another knock echoed through the house and Zwei began to bark. Leaving the kettle and heading for the door, Taiyang felt the smallest stir of hope in his chest that perhaps his youngest daughter had come back. Maybe Qrow had left to bring her home after all. But he knew Ruby wouldn't have needed to knock and neither would Qrow, so it was with a calm but deliberate caution that Taiyang opened the door.

And promptly felt his eyebrows rise into his hairline at the four men outside his door.

Perhaps "boys" was a better descriptor of the group as none of them could have been much older than either of his daughters. Years of battle experience allowed Taiyang to pick out the weapons they carried on their person immediately, and his gaze hardened as he looked to each boy in turn. The first was a tall, burly, dark-skinned fellow bedecked in a long white and green trenchcoat left open despite the cold weather. His arms were folded seriously in front of him but Taiyang could spot a pair of wings tattooed across his chest underneath, accompanying the numerical looking ones around his neck. He had a golden pauldron covering his right shoulder and a great sword strapped to his back. The boy next to him, by contrast, was pale and thin, hopping from one foot to the next in an effort to keep warm as the red military-like jacket he wore apparently did nothing for him. This boy also had tattoos, a number of small red shapes coming down like a hook around his left eye, the markings the same color as his hair which was swept to one side in an undercut. Hanging at either side of his hips were a cutlass and a flintlock pistol. Beside him was a boy that nearly rivaled the first in height and definitely rivaled the second in wiriness. He too wore a red coat but of a more casual make and in stark contrast to his bright blue hair. He'd been slouching slightly with his hands in his pockets but Taiyang had seen him jerk up straight as he'd opened the door, obviously nervous despite the gun the older man could see carried at his back.

The ringleader appeared to be a tan, muscular young man with blonde hair just as bright as his own or his daughter's. And almost amusingly like himself and Yang, he seemed largely impervious to the chill in the air, his white shirt worn open and his jeans rolled up under his knees. His weapon was harder to spot but Taiyang spied the ends of four shotguns hidden at his back under his shirt before his eyes dropped to the monkey tail swishing idly back and forth behind him. A Faunus. ...Interesting.

On another day, perhaps in a better mood, Taiyang would have greeted the last boy with a joke at how similar they appeared. His days of being one of the two most eligible bachelors of Team STRQ weren't that far behind him and Qrow had once or twice affectionately jabbed that perhaps he had one or two more unknown "hatchlings" somewhere out there. The ass.

But not today. Not with his beloved and only remaining daughter laid up in bed in the house beyond. Nobody had yet troubled the Xiao Long-Rose household because of Yang's involvement in the Vytal Tournament scandals, but that didn't mean no one ever would. Four young boys, likely Huntsmen if their weapons were anything to go by, could be trouble. ...Boys in general were usually trouble.

Taiyang stared hard at the group before addressing them in a gruff voice. "Can I help you?"

The four of them looked between themselves, likely silently exchanging a succession of "You go" and "No you"s, before the noodly one with blue hair finally spoke up, raising a hand in greeting and then pointing it like a gun at Taiyang in an attempt to be chummy.

"Uhh, hey, yeah, we're here for your daughter?"

The silence that followed was so great that the only audible sounds were the drip-drop of snow from the house and the distant laugh-like caw of a bird. Taiyang's eyes narrowed at the four of them, the blue-haired boy letting his hand drop limply back to his side and swallowing hard as the silence went on. Until...

"Nope." Without a further word, Taiyang slammed the door closed, hard enough to send a few piles of snow cascading off the roof.

The four boys winced at the sound. And then Sun turned to look at Neptune with a glare. " _'We're here for your daughter??'_ " he echoed sarcastically.

Neptune gave a shrug of his shoulders. "We tried?"

Sun put his head in his hands.

*****

Inside, Taiyang paused at yet another series of knocks. He balled his fists, rolling his shoulders and then turning back to open the door again. This time he made sure he stood his full height as he glowered at the four boys.

"You know, I can and will escort you off the premises myself."

This time it was the ringleader who spoke up, his hands held up placatingly. "Wait, please, hang on, just hear me out. We're friends of Yang's, I swear. My name's Sun. These are my teammates, Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet. We were staying at Beacon for the festival."

So they were Huntsmen after all. Taiyang's gaze slimmed again though. They might be students but they were still four young boys. "What do you want?"

"We wanted to see how Yang was getting along," The redhead answered this time. "Nobody's heard anything from her since the Grimm attacks. That's not like her."

"Can we see her?" The blue-haired boy chimed in, taking great pains to make himself appear small and non-threatening and failing fantastically at the first at least. The taller silent boy gave a nod of confirmation and then all four of them looked to Taiyang hopefully.

The elder Xiao Long gave each boy a scrutinizing look in turn. His judgment as a fellow Huntsmen was telling him these boys were probably alright. ...His judgment as a father however was telling him he should send them packing now. ...But also that they were probably alright.

Still...

"I just put some water on to boil for tea. You've got until it's ready to explain how you met my daughter." With one more harsh glare, Taiyang opened the door further in invitation before disappearing back inside.

Team SSSN hesitated a moment, looking to each other questioningly before Scarlet piped up. "D'you think he has Earl Grey?"

Sun made an exasperated noise before leading the group inside.

*****

Taiyang gave a sigh as he poured 5 cups of tea, inwardly musing to himself how long it had been since he'd needed to use a 5th cup, an even more disused 6th cup intended for Yang still waiting on the counter. The four boys, or Team SSSN as it turned out, had explained in amusing detail how they'd met Yang, or more specifically his daughter's teammates, along with a number of the hijinks they all had gotten into while at Beacon. And as much as he was still disinclined to trust them, he had to admit these were exactly the kind of boys Yang would probably hang out with: good-looking and not very bright. ...But with their hearts in the right places.

He'd been particularly surprised to learn that it wasn't Yang who had first met any of the group of Huntsmen seated at his kitchen table, but his daughter's partner, Blake. Taiyang could not pretend to know much about her, but he knew from Ruby's letters home that Blake was a quiet, bookish girl that his youngest daughter had specifically described as "mysterious". He also knew that the unexpected departure of this girl had had an extremely negative effect on his beloved first born.

Setting the cups down for his guests, Taiyang re-took his seat, still keeping up the air of "tough dad" as he stared at the four over the rim of his own cup. "So, what is it that you want with Yang?" 

Again the four looked at each other; apparently answering him always required a group consensus now following the disastrous first impressions at the door. Eventually the redhead, Scarlet, answered. "It's just as we said, sir. We wanted to see how she was doing." He took a sip from his cup of tea with a sort of carefully polished finesse.

The thin one with the blue hair, Neptune, the one Taiyang particularly categorized as "trouble", proceeded to explain further. "We all saw what happened to her at the tournament. ...It was terrible. I mean, we know her. She wouldn't have done something like that just outta spite." He forced a weak, conversational chuckle, apparently uncomfortable with the topic he'd brought up in front of his friend's father. "Sun thought the guy must've threatened Ruby somehow and I was thinking he probably called her a buh-..." He trailed off at the glare both Taiyang and his teammates were fixing him. "Soooo yeah...terrible." He took a long sip of his tea, effectively shutting himself up.

"We're worried about her." Taiyang couldn't help raising an eyebrow at the tallest member of the group, Sage, who'd barely spoken more than a dozen words since he'd let them all in.

The blonde leader of the team, Sun, a name that still had Taiyang idly wondering if he wasn't somehow related to this boy, nodded in agreement and then turned and addressed him directly with surprising frankness. "I was there when they brought her out of Beacon. And I was there when she woke up. Her teammate, Weiss, asked me to look after her. So I know how rough this whole...thing...was on her before she came here."

He then made a wide gesture to the rest of his team. "But I think a visit from all of us is just what she needs." He finished with as winning a grin as Taiyang had ever seen. ...Really, who was this kid's mother...?

Silence ensued again amongst the five men as Taiyang took a slow considerate drink from his tea. Ozpin may have been the master of the "thoughtful sip" but Taiyang fancied he made a good facsimile of it. It was definitely better than Qrow's cheap musing flask swigs. The four boys were telling the truth, obviously, although he hadn't missed the distinct note of confidence in Sun's last assertion. That wasn't just bravado. This boy had some kind of ace up his sleeve he wasn't showing just yet. It made Taiyang suspicious, naturally, but at the same time he could appreciate a boy who knew when to play it close to the vest. Or chest in this case. He slowly and decidedly put his cup down and then spoke.

"Well, unfortunately, Yang hasn't wanted any visitors lately."

He watched as all four boys visibly began to deflate, exchanging unsure looks with each other, and Taiyang withheld a grin. Amateurs.

"But," he continued, getting up from his chair, "I could use some help making lunch and bringing it in to her." He looked back to Team SSSN, brows slightly knitted together in an unspoken, _'if you catch my drift'_.

Sun caught the hint immediately, shooting up from his chair with unbridled enthusiasm. "You got it!"

His teammates took a moment longer but realization dawned with the help of an expectant cough from their team leader.

"Uh...oh yeah! ...Sure," Neptune supplied.

"We'd love to," Scarlet added.

Sage simply gave an agreeable nod, while Sun spoke up again. "Where do we start?"

"Are we going to make finger sandwiches?"

Four heads slowly turned to stare at Scarlet who glanced around at the others in confusion. "...Wot?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From what little we've seen of him, Scarlet's personality appears to be "Remnant!Gavin Free" while Sage seems to be the "Quiet Stoic" or something, so I've gone with that. Meanwhile, Neptune continues to be chronically unable to impress anyone with the last name Xiao Long and Sun just...has a lot of regrets about his teammates sometimes. Yes, their interactions and personalities are being played for humor here at the moment, but let's be honest, that's kinda canon and I think we all need some levity. Also I find it really amusing that Taiyang and Sun have a lot in common appearance and imagery-wise, and knowing Taiyang's "history" I couldn't pass up the chance to poke fun at it.


	2. Chapter 2

Yang Xiao Long was awake, for a given definition of that word, sitting up in bed in her usual spot beside the window where she could stare sullenly at the world beyond. Occasionally, depending on the light, her window would act as a sort of mirror, allowing Yang to see her reflection in addition to the view outside and today was one such particular day.

It was days like this that made Yang especially miserable.

Her normally pristine blonde locks were mussed from a combination of restless sleep and lack of the strict regimen she'd always upheld in caring for it. It was difficult to brush her length of hair with only a single hand and while her father would help her comb it, there was often no time until later in the day. There were dark circles under her eyes, her face beginning to become gaunt from not sleeping nor eating properly. It was getting close to lunch and, by all rights, Yang knew she should be hungry. Extremely hungry in fact. But she had no appetite. Eating anything more than the bare minimum made her stomach hurt anyway. The worst part however was that, on a day like this, she could clearly see the bandaged remains of her right arm reflected in the window. A visible and frequently painful physical reminder of her own failure. The arm she'd lost trying to-...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door to the room and Yang withheld a groan. The hours tended to blend together for her, much like the days did, but she knew that knock had to mean lunchtime. She dropped her head back in exasperation onto the pillows piled up behind her. Why couldn't her dad just take a page out of everyone else's book and leave her alone? She wasn't in the mood for another half hour of uncomfortable one-sided conversation and forcing a few more mouthfuls of food down. But she knew if she told him to go away he wouldn't listen. He was still her dad and she couldn't really tell him to do anything.

All the same, she answered with extreme disinterest. "What is it, Dad?"

The door opened and her father entered with a small smile. "Lunch is ready."

If Yang had been more aware, she might have grown suspicious of the fact that Taiyang had entered with only a single cup of tea as opposed to his usual tray of food. Instead, she began to turn her attention back to the window. "Uh huh."

Her father moved over to the bed and carefully set the cup down on the bedside table. "I made you some tea."

"Thanks, Dad." The apathy in Yang's tone was palpable, already bracing for the oncoming mundane attempts at conversing with her. Which was why another voice suddenly chiming in nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"Soup's on, Yangarang."

Yang whipped her head around, unkempt bangs flying into her face, and stared wide-eyed at Sun Wukong, still without a goddamn shirt on in winter, standing in her doorway with a tray of food. Behind him, she could see the heads of Scarlet, Neptune, and Sage peeking around the door at her.

The shock lasted a few moments, but when it wore off, Yang shot a mutinous glance at her father before outright scowling at Team SSSN. "What are they doing here?"

Her father leaned down to place a kiss on the crown of her head, a gesture that would have made her roll her eyes if he'd done that in front of her friends in the past, but instead just prompted a glare. "I'm sorry, Sunshine. They stopped by and I needed a little help with lunch today." He smiled at her in a way that obviously suggested to her that he was not very sorry at all nor serious, particularly when he continued, "I'm getting old."

"Daaaaaaad," She drew the word out irritably. Her dad knew she didn't want visitors, not that she'd had any to speak of since coming back home. She looked terrible for starters, although her haggard appearance was considerably low on the ever-shrinking list of things she cared about . All four members of Team SSSN were taking extreme pains to _not_ stare at the stump of her right arm and she honestly almost would have preferred they just gawk at her instead of trying to pretend they weren't.

Taiyang pulled back, making way for Sun to set the tray of soup on the seat of a nearby chair for her while the rest of Team SSSN quietly filed into the room. "Think you can humor them for half an hour while I give Zwei a bath? He's overdue." A plaintive canine whimper sounded from down the hall.

"Daaaaaad!" Her voice pitched up with complaint this time, growing agitated. Now her father was just making excuses. And getting Zwei clean would take much longer than a half hour, especially now that he'd used the words "Zwei" and "bath" in a sentence while the dog was in earshot.

Her father just smiled warmly at her as if she'd cheerfully agreed to the request. "Thanks, Dear-Heart. I knew I could count on you."

Yang glared flatly as he moved to leave, already knowing there would be no getting out of this for the time being.

"Oh! Before I forget..." Taiyang paused in the doorway, turning a piercing blue gaze on all five of them, but Yang saw the smallest hint of mischief on his face.

"This door stays open."

"DAD!!!"

She all but snarled at him, gritting her teeth as her shoulders bunched up almost to her ears in outrage. She would have thrown a pillow at him if she'd still had the arm to do it with.

Taiyang merely smiled the same sunny smile as before. "Love you." He headed back out into the hallway and out of sight making an overly enthusiastic call for Zwei as he left.

Yang glowered furiously after him for a long moment before shifting her ire to Team SSSN. There was the smallest hope that maybe she could intimidate them into leaving her alone with just a look. Done right, a glare from her used to leave the average person quaking in their shoes. Even an Ursa had once thought twice about charging her. But the effect was ruined now. There was nothing to be scared of from a one-armed girl with messy hair sitting in a bed.

At least she could still refuse to speak with them, and perhaps the uncomfortable silence combined with her foul expression would convince them to leave. And for a few short moments, she thought it might work, as all four members of Team SSSN stood fidgeting uneasily at the edge of her room, Scarlet even clearing his throat awkwardly. Eventually though, one of them took the plunge and spoke up.

...Amusingly enough, that one was Neptune.

"Sooooo...how are you doing?"

Yang gave him a rankled look that she figured would answer for her and Neptune slunk back a little in response, rubbing the back of his neck. "R-riiiight. Yeah. ...Probably been better." He trailed off and then pretended to get distracted, idly looking around for something. Maybe a way out.

Her attention flicked to Sun as he nudged the lunch tray he'd set out for her with his tail, shooting her a lop-sided smile.

"Your food's gonna get cold."

She stared back at him impassively.

"...Might wanna eat that."

Her brows lowered.

"...We all worked kinda hard on it."

His teammates muttered an assortment of affirmatives behind him, "Uh huh," "You'll love it, it's delicious," "I burned myself on the stove."

Yang made an exasperated noise in her throat, rolling her eyes as she finally gave up on giving them the silent treatment. The sooner she talked to them, maybe the sooner they'd just leave. "What are you doing here?"

All four of them looked between themselves as if in preparation for something and then Scarlet piped up.

"Well, we thought, what better way to cheer up a pretty girl than 4 hot guys?"

There was an audible tensing of muscle as the members of Team SSSN flexed their arms and pectorals, each of them striking a boy band worthy pose.

But Yang's expression could not have been more flat, her gaze slimming at the team of Huntsmen before she glanced away, muttering in a peevish, dismissive monotone, "Is that all?"

The four boys exchanged concerned glances, obviously worried about the lack of effect their charms and jokes were having on her. Yang could tell they'd been hoping she would banter and joke back at them. Like she'd used to. But she wasn't in any mood for that. She hadn't been in any mood for that since Beacon fell.

There was a time and a place for jokes. And that time had long passed.

She didn't bother looking up as she continued listlessly, "Look, I'm tired. So if that's all you came here to do, I'd appreciate it if you'd just let me get some rest now."

Silence stretched between them again and this time Yang was hoping they'd finally give up and leave her be. But then Sun spoke up, his tone almost surprisingly serious.

"That's not all we came here for, Yang."

Yang breathed out a sigh. Dammit she was so tired of this beating around the bush, she just wanted this awful visit over with. She looked up at him, exasperation written all over her features. "Then what do you _want_?"

Sun's brows came down together, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders, the gesture almost too nonchalant given his next words. "Well... _you_."

The answer was so unexpected that Yang blinked, her jaw dropping slightly before she remembered herself and her gaze slimmed at him. Not angrily, just...confused.

"What?"

"We want you to come with us," Sun clarified, waving a hand towards the door behind him. "Back to Vale."

She blinked once more and this time she did frown at him, derision seeping into her tone. "Are you kidding me? Why would I do that?"

"Because we're gonna go get the rest of your team back." Sun's eyes were sparkling with determination as he pumped a hand towards his chest. "And then we're all gonna go after the guys who started this."

Yang stared at him for several long moments, her expression suggesting she was waiting for one of the members of SSSN to shout, "Gotcha" at her. And when it became clear Sun was being 100% serious, she shook her head.

"You guys are crazy. I'm not doing that."

Sun's eyebrows rose up into his bangs, surprised and a little appalled. "Are you serious? This is your team-"

"What _**team**_??" Yang interrupted, gesturing agitatedly with her left arm. "Ruby's run off to Mistral, Weiss is stuck in Atlas and who the hell knows where Blake is!!"

"That's just it!" Sun was quick to interject. "We totally know where the hell Blake is. She's still hanging around Vale."

"What??" Yang wasn't sure whether to be shocked or agitated by that statement so she settled on both.

Nonplussed, Sun continued almost enthusiastically. "Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure it's her."

The skepticism on her face at that must have been too obvious even for him because Sun held up his hands defensively, and proceeded to explain. "Look, last week I overheard a bunch of the refugees talking about this 'mysterious Huntress'. Saved a bunch of kids that'd accidentally wandered out of the safe zone. One of them said they heard she took all the Grimm down in a matter of seconds; That she moved so fast it was like there was more than one of her. And!"

Sun paused, for apparently no other reason than dramatic effect. "The kids said she disappeared just as quickly as she came."

He finished the tale with a small smirk, crossing his arms almost triumphantly, like there could be no question of this mysterious savior's identity.

But Yang could only sound disinterested, looking back towards the window. "There's a ton of warriors milling around Vale right now. That could be anybody."

Sun made a guttural noise in his throat. "Seriously? What kinda Huntress'd just run off afterwards like that? Appearing out of nowhere, saving the day, and then vanishing back into the shadows before anyone can thank 'em? That's got 'Blake Belladonna' written all over it, and you know it."

"So _what?_ " Yang snapped, looking over at him. "If you think it's her, then why don't _you_ go after her?" She absolutely couldn't care less if Sun wanted to continue pursuing Blake. The faunus leader must have picked up on that too because he met her stony look with one of his own.

"Because we don't have a way to track her down. And she's _your_ partner."

Yang barked out a mirthless laugh in response. "Yeah, because I'll be able to find her no problem."

She didn't even have a chance to correct Sun about the word "partner" before he retorted, "No. But Neptune said you know people who can."

Yang's gaze flicked dangerously towards Neptune at that. She'd nearly forgotten the other members of Team SSSN were in the room and apparently Neptune hadn't expected his name to be dropped so unexpectedly as the taller boy straightened up at her glare, trying to placate her with a winning smile even as he fidgeted with his tie.

Meanwhile, Sun continued unperturbed, "So I figure, we head back to Vale. Look up these friends of yours. Find Blake. Catch a ship to Atlas. Grab Weiss. And then all of us'll head down to Mistral, meet up with Ruby, and bust some bad guy heads in!" He pounded one fisted hand into the open palm of his other for emphasis.

Yang stared at him, long and hard, her tone completely neutral when she finally spoke. " _That's_ your plan?"

Sun glanced back towards his teammates as if to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything and then nodded an affirmative, still sounding enthusiastic, "Yeah! I mean, that's the basics anyway."

Yang gave a slow blink, looking down briefly before returning her gaze to Team SSSN. "Okay. Then let me ask you something..."

She almost could have found satisfaction in the way all four boys leaned in just the slightest bit to listen.

Right before she screamed, "DID YOU MORONS FORGET I'M MISSING AN ARM???"

"Oh come on!" Sun shouted back, his patience with her attitude obviously running out. "You're seriously gonna let that stop you? I saw you bean Cardin single-handed with a carton of eggs once from across the courtyard."

"That's totally different!" Yang was far past caring if her dad heard the noise or not. "You want me to come with you into the middle of a warzone filled with Grimm and then try to go after the people responsible for it? What, do you want me to throw eggs at them too?? I can't _fight_!!" She set her self-consciousness aside for a moment, gesturing to the miserable stump that remained of her right arm.

At that, Scarlet suddenly scrambled to reassure her, gesturing at his teammates. "But that's what we're here for! We'll be there to help protect you if things get dicey."

But his words just made Yang's scowl deepen, drawling her words out sarcastically. "Oh great! That's sooo much better. Running and hiding while my _bodyguards_ make the scary monsters go away. Forget it!" She looked decidedly away from them with a huff, her stormy expression mirrored in the window beside her, left hand clenched into the fabric of her blanket.

Silence settled over the room once more, Team SSSN glancing between themselves before Neptune finally took a step towards her, imploringly.

"Look, don't think of us as bodyguards. Think of us as...escorts?"

Yang's reflection glared towards him but she didn't turn her head and Scarlet moved forwards as well.

"We're your friends, Yang. We want to help you."

" _Exactly_ ," Sun added, in a way that suggested that should have been obvious to her while Sage merely gave a nod of agreement.

Another stretch of silence ensued, but this time it was broken by Yang.

"...You don't get it."

Her shoulders had slowly started to hunch, her grip on the blanket tightening as her voice dropped to a strained and dangerously low timbre. "Nobody gets it."

"Get what?" Sun's tone was getting testy and the fact that he had the nerve to pull that with her was what finally made her snap, whirling around to fix the group with livid red eyes.

"I don't _want_ help!!!"

Her voice was hoarse, unused to all this screaming much less talking for as long as she had been. Usually when she spoke, she tried to keep any gestures from her remaining arm to a minimum; it just drew attention to the arm that wasn't there. But this time she didn't care, gesticulating wildly. She hadn't felt this angry in weeks.

"I don't want bodyguards! I don't want escorts! I don't want to be protected!!"

She fixed her furious gaze on Sun. "And I don't WANT to go running off to Vale to look for a so-called 'partner' who doesn't give a damn about me!" Her hand fisted and then slammed forcefully down into her bed as she screamed fit to set the window rattling.

" **I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!!!** "

Yang sat there seething and panting harshly, daring the members of Team SSSN to speak up again. All four of them looked completely taken aback. Horrified almost, at her words and behavior. She should have felt some pleasure at it. That's what she wanted. Because maybe now they'd finally get the message. But instead, all she felt was unhappy, and it just grew the longer they stared at her until finally she looked away, pulling her knees up to her chest and laying her arm across it.

An extremely uncomfortable silence settled over the room. The four huntsmen seemed to be at a loss for words and Yang had more than spoken her piece, refusing to acknowledge them any further.

Finally, Sun's brows lowered into a deep frown, just before he turned towards his teammates. "Guys, why don't you help her old man with the dog, huh?"

Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet gave muted glances towards their team leader before all three of them quietly headed for the door. Through the reflection in the window, Yang could see them cast a lingering glance towards her, but she simply pulled her knees up tighter and ignored them.

When only Sun remained he took a step towards her. "Yang..."

She sensed him reaching a hand out for her shoulder and bunched both of them up defensively again, ducking her head down. "Just go away already, Sun."

Sun hesitated, but instead of leaving he moved to the chair beside her bed, lifting the tray of food off it to set on the bedside table, his tail replacing the mug on top of it. Pulling the chair over, he quietly sat down, folding his hands across his lap. And when he spoke it was serious and somber.

"I do get it, you know."

By contrast, Yang's voice was brittle and bitter, her face still hidden from view. "No. You don't."

"Well, I get part of it!" He protested, sounding a little insulted. "You're mad at her for just running off." There was no need to specify the 'her'.

Sun paused, running a hand through his hair and then continued in a tone that was strained with frustration, "I get it because I'm still angry at her too. She didn't say goodbye to me either and I didn't even come out of this mess minus a limb."

He couldn't have seen the way her scowl darkened at the comment but Sun might have seen the slight turn of her head towards her right side as he pressed on, "I told you I saw her go. I called after her and she totally ignored me. I know she could hear me. She chose not to. And that hurt."

Sun waited a moment, as if he thought she might have something to say in response, but when her only reply was a silent souring of her expression he kept going, waving a hand off to the side. "So I got mad. I figured, some friend, right? I don't need to get mixed up in her issues anyway, I've got myself and my team to worry about."

He paused again and then straightened in his seat. "But then I started thinking."

Yang glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, one eyebrow raising ever so slightly at that statement. Sun must have seen that because he gave a brief lop-sided smirk, just before he continued seriously, "I think that's exactly what these guys want."

He leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, his voice lowering in volume. "Those guys who rigged the tournament, those guys who helped the White Fang attack Beacon and messed with all of Ironwood's tech? I think that's what they want. They want us scared. They want us mad. They don't want us worrying about other people. They made this whole speech back at the arena about not being able to trust people because that's what they want. If everybody's only looking out for number one, nobody's gonna pay any attention to what else they're doing."

Sun sat back in his chair, and although she still wasn't looking at him directly, Yang could sense he was regarding her expectantly.

"What's your point?" she managed to spit out, inclining her head the smallest bit towards him.

"My _point_ is, I'm not gonna buy into that."

Sun held his hands up flippantly. "So, yeah, I'm still mad at her. And yeah, the next time I see her, I'm gonna give Blake hell about it."

He then fixed his gaze on her. "But I think she needs help. I think Weiss needs help." Sun brought a hand up to rub behind the back of his neck and only now did the tiniest note of anxiousness seep into his tone. "And no offense? But your sister needs all the help she can get if she's gonna have a chance against guys like this."

Yang's eyes narrowed, sullenly looking down at her knees. If Blake needed help, she could get it herself, she didn't owe her former partner anything. And Weiss, well, she was certain if Weiss was in trouble, she'd have said something. As for Ruby...

She hadn't been any use to her during the fighting at Beacon.

There was even less she could do now.

Ruby'd already figured out how to make do without her around, she'd be alright.

...She'd be alright.

"You're asking the wrong person, Sun." She kept her focus decidedly on the fabric of her blanket.

At that, Sun gave a small sigh and Yang let her shoulders drop in relief. Finally, he was giving up-... "No. I'm not."

He stood up purposefully, ignoring the surprised turn of Yang's head towards him at the assertion as he moved for the door. He paused just inside the frame and looked back at her. "We're all taking a ship back to Vale at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning." The smallest hint of a smile crossed his features and his confidence returned as he stated casually, "I know I'll see you there."

Yang frowned, beginning to look away again only to start as Sun suddenly tossed something towards her with a call of, "So, eat up."

She reacted almost instinctively, catching it deftly in her left hand, if with the smallest fumble. She stared at it in surprise, both at the fact she'd caught it and what exactly it was she'd caught. An...apple?

She glanced up at him, bewildered. Had he had that with him the whole time? But Sun just gave her frustratingly knowing grin, "The food over there's super crummy right now."

Still smirking, he turned to leave, monkey tail swishing cheerfully behind him, "See you later, Yang."

Watching him leave, Yang's gaze then slowly turned to the apple she still held in her hand. Her nose wrinkled up in anger and for a moment she was tempted to throw the piece of fruit across the room. Sun Wukong had some kind of gall thinking he knew _anything_ about her. She lifted her hand, as if to follow through on that desire to throw it but then she hesitated. Inch by inch, she let her hand drop back down, her knees unbending so it could settle in her lap.

And for a long while afterwards, she simply sat there, staring at it in pensive silence.

When Taiyang came in later to check on her and retrieve her tray of food, she'd already laid down for a nap. But he was more than a little surprised to find an apple core next to the half-finished bowl of soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's important to remember that Yang isn't the only one Blake left behind. While Yang may have been affected the worst by it, Blake abandoned _all_ of her friends, not just her.
> 
> And I think it might help Yang if she realizes that too.


End file.
